CEBU CITY, 19 December 2003 — Qatar Airways has won the right to carry passengers between Singapore and Cebu City in the Philippines, following tough negotiations with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) of the Philippines, according to Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmena.

Speaking to a group of Gulf-based journalists who flew into Cebu City last week on the inaugural Qatar Airways flight to Cebu from Doha, Osmena admitted that there had been tough opposition to granting fifth-freedom rights to Qatar Airways on the Singapore-Cebu route, namely from Philippine Airlines. Osmena personally went to Manila to lobby for Qatar Airways before the CAB.

Fifth-freedom rights means that Qatar Airways will be able to carry passengers flying between Cebu and Singapore, a right that normally would be restricted to either Philippine or Singapore airlines.

“For too long we have been protecting the interests of PAL. But what is good for PAL is not always good for the nation,” said Osmena. “PAL is the oldest airline in Asia, but we cannot go on protecting it forever. We welcome Qatar Airways to Cebu and look forward to these direct flights building business and tourism ties between the Gulf region and one of the premier destinations in the Philippines.”

The inaugural Doha-Cebu flight QR638 landed in Cebu City on Dec. 11 after a brief stopover in Singapore. It was also the airline’s inaugural flight to Singapore. On board the flight were the Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Wenslao Quirolgico, Qatar Airways’ General Manager Commercial Mohamed Saleh Fakhri, Regional Manager for the Far East Marwan Koleilat, and Mario Hatchem, area manager Philippines.

“We are pleased that we can extend our services to Philippines with this new thrice-weekly service to Cebu,” said Fakhri after landing. “Cebu has become Qatar Airways’ 48th destination and represents our ongoing commitment to increase services to the Philippines.”

Philippine Secretary of Tourism Richard Gordon and Cebu Gov. Pablo Garcia met the inaugural flight to Cebu, among others.

Qatar Airways is initially using the Airbus A300-600 on this route, with plans to upgrade to the Airbus A330-200 when it receives new aircraft currently on order from Airbus. A two-class configuration of Business and Economy is being used, with 18 seats in Business and 206 seats in Economy. The flights to Cebu leave Doha on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:30 pm, arriving in Cebu at 4 pm the following day. Return flights leave Cebu on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at 2:15 am, arriving in Doha at 10:15 am the flowing day.

The flight from Cebu to Doha on Dec. 15 was quite empty, but according to Qatar Airways Performance Supervisor Shital Mainker, the flight to Cebu yesterday was fully booked and the airline expects to have good passenger loads as Filipinos working in the Gulf take advantage of the only direct flight from the region to Cebu.

The airline was launched in 1994, and is now one the fastest growing airlines in the world, with $3 billion in new aircraft on order with Airbus. It currently operates 28 aircraft, including 12 Airbus A320-200s, 9 Airbus A300-600s and 4 Airbus A330-200s.

The state of Qatar also recently announced a $2.5 billion expansion of Doha International Airport that will encompass a new passenger terminal and runways. The US construction giant Bechtel is in charge of the project, with the first phase of the expansion to be ready in 2008, including an additional 24 gates. The mid-phase of the project will see an additional 16 gates added to the terminal, with the overall expansion expected to be completed by 2015. The airport’s capacity is expected to reach 24 million passengers per annum.

Qatar Airways has already announced a $38 million program to upgrade the current terminal this year, as part of a broader $140 million program to increase the annual capacity of the airport from 4.2 million to 7.5 million passengers.

The airline’s aggressive expansion has been spearheaded by its CEO Akbar Al-Baker, who is known to make spot inspections at Doha Airport at 2 o’clock in the morning. The airline has already won awards for being one the best airlines in the world, with a multinational cabin crew who have also won accolades.